Who We Are, How We Serve

The Columbia Union Conference coordinates the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s work in the Mid-Atlantic United States, where 150,000 members worship in 860 congregations. We provide administrative support to eight conferences; two healthcare networks; 81 early childhood, elementary and secondary schools; a liberal arts university; a health sciences college; a 49 community services centers; 8 camps; 5 book and health food stores and a radio station.

Mission Values Priorities

We Believe

God is love, power, and splendor—and God is a mystery. His ways are far beyond us, but He still reaches out to us. God is infinite yet intimate, three yet one,
all-knowing yet all-forgiving.

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Interview by Alexis A. Goring

Seventh-day Adventists sometimes tend to “do life” in their own bubble of sorts—speaking their own church language (GC, haystacks, AY), socializing with people who believe like they do and even shopping in special stores, says Sung Kwon, executive director of the North American Division Adventist Community Services, and a member of Chesapeake Conference’s Spencerville church in Silver Spring, Md.

In his book, Burst the Bubble, Kwon challenges Adventist readers to “burst the bubble” and engage the community in what he calls “life on life evangelism.”

Read more about his book in the interview below:

Photo by Workandapix on Pixaby

Editorial by Victor Zill

How often do you contemplate the blessings in your life? I firmly believe that focusing on the blessings God has given us—both individually and as a church—helps keep our priorities straight and our attitudes correctly tuned. Even if problems and tragedies run into us like a Mack Truck, with God on our side, there are plenty of things to celebrate.

Story by Tiffany Doss

Members of the Southern Asian church in Silver Spring, Md., recently celebrated 30 years of God’s faithfulness. “Everyone joined to embrace the history and celebrate what lies ahead,” says Franklin David, pastor.

In the late 1950s, many Southern Asian Adventists migrated to areas in the Potomac Conference and held church services in their homes. In the 1980s, they approached conference administration with a request to establish a Southern Asian church. David established a company as a volunteer leader, and, within two years, the congregation grew to 250 members. Today the church is attended by more than 900.